Advertising is a primary technique by which sellers of products and/or services communicate with potential purchasers in the hopes of influencing them to purchase the goods and/or services they are selling, or to disperse information, convey a message, or promote a cause. Advertisers frequently desire to highlight advantages, benefits, efficiencies and promotions associated with their products and/or services, and generally wish to present the information in a fashion that will be pleasing to a viewer or listener. Effective advertising can enhance product/service desirability in the minds of consumers, which can result in increased sales, revenues, and profits for the providers. However, advertising can be expensive, and companies frequently devote substantial resources toward cost-benefit analysis efforts in an attempt to maximize their returns on advertising investment.
There are several aspects to effective advertising. To be successful, an advertising campaign should reach those potential consumers for whom the products/services are intended, such that they may be influenced to purchase the respective products/services. Additionally, the advertisement should be in a format that is useful to the person perceiving the advertisement under the prevailing circumstances. Furthermore, the advertisement should be enjoyable to the observer, as an observer is unlikely to be positively influenced by an advertisement that is distasteful or otherwise unpleasant, or by an advertisement that is presented in a format to which the observer is not receptive.
Advertisements typically are static in nature. That is, they are often presented in a particular format that remains constant, without any variability in form, function, or presentation. Examples include print advertisements in newspapers, magazines, promotional flyers, billboards, and the like. Auditory advertisements such as a recorded message broadcast over the radio or over a public address system are further examples. Television commercials provide yet another common example. Because of their static nature, such advertisements may, over time, become less effective as potential purchasers may instinctively “tune-out” the message after repeatedly being presented with the same advertisement or information in the same format. Moreover, while static advertisements may be useful to some potential customers under certain circumstances, they may not be useful to other potential customers under alternative circumstances, or may be less useful than they would be were they presented in a more appropriate format.
Interactive advertising has recently gained popularity. With interactive advertising, an advertiser attempts to target a particular group of recipients with a particular advertisement, where the particular group is believed to be receptive to the particular advertisement. In this way, advertisers may be able to contain advertising expenses by pursuing only those potential customers who fit a particular profile, or who have taken some action that is in some way related to the particular advertisement or to the associated good and/or service.
Advertising on the Internet can be interactive. For example, the Google AdWords system uses a query-keyword-relevant advertising method to present computer users (e.g., desktop computer or laptop computer users) with advertisements relevant to a tendered search request. Similarly, the Google AdSense system uses a content-relevant advertising method to serve ads relevant to the content of a document, such as a web page, to computer users. With the current popularity and ubiquity of cellular or mobile telephones, which now frequently have the capability to connect to the Internet to access online content, another interactive advertising channel has emerged. Static advertisements have been presented on mobile telephones, including fully textual advertisements and advertisements that include a coupon code. These advertisements, however, are routinely presented in the same format.
Thus, there is a need for a system that can provide effective and useful advertisements to users of mobile devices under a variety of circumstances. Moreover, there is a need for a system that can strategically analyze, select, and present advertisements in varying formats on mobile devices.